


Taking a Trip

by TrinityThatcher



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: F/M, Mikoto gets a beach episode and it goes exactly like you think it would
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-05 21:16:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6723877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrinityThatcher/pseuds/TrinityThatcher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikoto does something thoughtful for his lover, much to everyone's surprise. (A birthday gift for my good friend KylieVonDark)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking a Trip

In the admittedly short amount of time Kylie Kobayashi had been seeing her lover, she’d never thought to ask for more than what she considered the standard fare as far as romance was concerned.

It wasn’t for a lack of desire or imagination that she didn’t ask for more. Just like any other person in a good and loving relationship, she liked the idea of long walks and romantic candlelit dinners, days playing in the sun and nights laying under the stars. She liked to entertain the thought of over-the-top romantic gestures. It was simply that she was so content, and so used to what she considered routine, that even if the idea of a romantic date were to cross her mind, she wouldn’t think to apply it to herself. Some would call her hopelessly selfless.

A standard date for Kylie and Mikoto was a day out in the park with the HOMRA boys, talking on a bench while the others ran around and enjoyed the day, or a walk along the strip mall with the gang close behind. Sometimes the duo sat themselves in a corner of the bar to talk quietly over drinks, one of the few times that the others knew they should leave their King alone. On the rare nights that they found themselves home alone at a reasonable hour, they would settle down for the night with takeout food and a stack of movies--- that was their ‘date night’ ritual, their private time together.  
Kylie didn’t question it; she knew her lover’s temperament and his tastes. He wasn’t the type to sweep a woman off of her feet with grandiose romantic gestures and thoughtful gifts. His brand of love was giving her his undivided attention and holding her body close to his, and that was all she felt she needed to be happy. It wouldn’t be in his nature to go above and beyond that, she figured, and that was okay. That was Mikoto, and she loved him exactly the way he was.

All this said, it was understandably a bit perplexing when Mikoto had handed her a suitcase one evening as they were winding down after dinner and told her to pack a week’s worth of clothing, including bathing suits and bath products for two people. He wouldn’t give a straight answer as to why he was making such a request no matter how much she pestered him, only grumbled and gave vague assurances of “it’s a surprise but you’ll like it a lot” as he pulled his own clothes out of his drawers and haphazardly threw them across their bed in piles to start packing for himself (which he failed miserably at, being the type who was not very skilled at folding clothes properly, and wound up letting Kylie do all of his packing as well as her own).  
He’d taken her early the next morning to a large train station, the kind that made trips that took hours to complete, and even then he wouldn’t tell her where they were going. Their tickets read “Shizune-Osaka line, round trip” which told her very little, only that they’d be going to another city a good couple of hours away.  
The view was rather pleasant, she mused. At least she could tell that much. She’d only ever once been on a bullet train before—the closest she’d ever gotten to a big roadtrip was the weekend vacation she took with her senior class to Kyoto. The trip there was full of singing and joking around with her friends, and she remembered being so occupied with talking that she hadn’t taken the time to look out the window for too long. Everything rushed past so quickly, it almost surprised her to think how fast they were going when she didn’t feel a thing.

“Oi. Look over ‘ere a sec, kid.”

Kylie snapped back to reality, turning to look at her lover seated beside her, who was holding two copies of a small laminated card. “The lady handed me these. I guess since it’s gonna be a while, we should get somethin’ ta eat, huh?”

“Well, I bought some snacks at the station just in case… aren’t those really expensive, anyways?” she wondered aloud, leaning over to get a better look at the options. To her chagrin, Mikoto leaned away, hiding the cards from her view against his chest with a raised eyebrow.  
“Wouldja’ quit worryin’ so much? It ain’t that expensive.” He scolded in a teasing tone. He took a quick peek downward. “They’ve got cold bento, onigiri and sandwiches. If you don’t pick one, I’m pickin’ for you.”

“I already bought us some yaki-onigiri at the station, so I don’t need anything else. Maybe a cold water.”

“Fine, fine. I’m gettin’ me a bento box, though.”

“I’d have packed you one myself if you’d have told me we were riding a bullet train….”

“Eh…. Details….”

Kylie rolled her eyes, leaning back into her seat and digging into her carryon bag for her snacks. “And if you’d tell me where we were headed before we got there, I could be even better prepared…”

She didn’t have to look up to know his reaction to her comment; she heard a low chuckle, and a groan as Mikoto laid back in his seat. “Forget it, kid. A surprise ain’t a surprise if I tell you about it before we even get there.”

She huffed in frustration, pulling a rice ball wrapped in paper out of her carryon. “Do I even get a hint?”

“Yeah, it’s on yer ticket. We’re hoppin’ on another bullet train after this one that’s gonna connect us to the place we’re stayin’ at.”

“That’s not a good hint.” Kylie grumbled. “I’ve never even been to Osaka, I don’t know what all’s there.”

“Well,” Mikoto smirked, “S’ a good thing we ain’t stayin’ in Osaka.”

She sighed, carefully unwrapping her rice ball as their conversation tapered into silence again. A quick glance to the side told her that her companion had elected to rest his eyes, and that he probably would pretend not to hear her if she tried to ask any more questions.  
She took a bite of her yaki-onigiri and looked out the window again. At least the scenery would keep her entertained.

 

* * *

 

 

By the time they had arrived at their final destination, it was early afternoon and painfully hot. Kylie finally got the answer she had been looking for in the train station’s welcome sign: “Shirahama Beach and Onsen Resort”  
Before Mikoto could get a word in edge-wise, she had taken off like a rocket through the turnstiles and out of the station as fast as her legs could carry her, until pavement turned to blacktop and she could feel a hot salty breeze on her skin.

“IT’S THE OCEAN! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! THE OCEAN!” she yelled into the open air, grinning from ear to ear in delight. A few passers-by turned to stare, but she paid them no mind.  
It was more beautiful than she imagined it would be. Shiuzune City was located near the water, of course, because of the Crater, but the border between land and sea was a steep grassy slope covered in trash, lined with bridges and train rails overhead. She still loved to look out at the ocean, but because of the state of the water, swimming was forbidden and lounging would undoubtedly make for a very uncomfortable experience. She’d seen the ocean before, but not like this. The water looked so clean, and the shore was lined with gorgeously white sand speckled with umbrellas and chairs. All of the road in front of her was lined with shops and stalls, the walkways bustling with people dressed in light yukata and summer clothes.  
“I can’t believe you took me to the beach….” Kylie giggled, taking in her surroundings giddily. “I’ve always wanted to go—“  
She turned around to look behind her, and realized in an instant that she had been talking to empty air. Slapping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment, she rushed back down the road to the station entrance, finding Mikoto quickly in the crowd. He was the only one struggling to pull multiple bags and suitcases through the turnstile.

“I don’t mind if you run off or anythin’, but at least warn me first….”

Mikoto dropped his bags to the ground with a sigh, and wasn’t given more than a second to recover before he had a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his midsection and a head of brunette hair buried against his chest. He blinked in surprise, tensing up, before letting himself relax, petting back his girlfriend’s hair.

“Toldja’ you’d like it, huh baby?” he asked smugly. “And we ain’t even got to the hotel yet.”

 

* * *

 

 

As it turned out, they had arrived at just the right time to check in and put their bags away in their room. Kylie was experiencing surprise after surprise as she took in the entirety of their lodgings, from the incredibly soft mattress to the overly-large bathtub outfitted with jets (“We can both fit in it ‘f we want to~” Mikoto had teased her), and even a balcony overlooking the beach complete with chairs and a small hammock seat.

Even with all of this, she couldn’t hold in her excitement at the prospect of the beach, so they had quickly unpacked, pulled out their towels and bathing suits, and made their way down to the water. He’d disappeared for a minute while she laid out their towels on the sand, and came back with a tiny ball of plastic from the gift shop by the roadside which he quickly inflated to make an inner tube. The design was covered in tiny fruits and ice creams and colored a lovely pale pink, which seemed to suit Kylie impossibly well. When she put it around her waist and asked how she looked, Mikoto stared at her for a moment before turning away, mumbling something about “better not let you outta my sight”.

The water was chilly but, for a sunny afternoon, perfect against her skin. Kylie leaned against her inner tube, paddling through the water and letting the waves bob her up and down. It seemed so simple, but somehow it was so much fun.

“MIIII-KO-NIIIIII~!”

On the beach, the flame-haired king lounged under the shade of a rented umbrella, resting on his towel. He tilted his head up slightly to look out at the water, smiled a bit at the sight, and laid back down without a word.

“Hey! Come on, Mikoto! You’re at the beach, don’t waste it laying in the sand!” Kylie called out.

“I’m on vacation.” He yelled back in reply. “Let me be lazy.”

“You can be lazy out here too, you know! Augh, for the….”

Paddling back up to shore, Kylie hoisted her inner tube around her waist, padding across the sand to her lounging boyfriend. “I’m not spending this vacation enjoying things by myself, Mikoto. Come on, get in the water just for a sec?”

Mikoto groaned, tilting his head to the side. “Mmmm…. It looks cold…”

“I mean, it is at first, but you get used to it and it feels really good with the sun.”

“Mmmmmm……”

“Come oooonnnnnnnnn…….”

Kylie frowned, letting her inner tube drop to the sand and stepping out of it, pushing it away with her foot. “I want to enjoy it with you. Pleeeeeease Miko-nii~? Pretty please?”

She got no reply, only steady breathing from her lounging partner. Feeling a bit disappointed by his lack of enthusiasm, she sighed, plopping herself down in the sand next to him and draping her body over her inner tube, as if she were afloat on the soft white grain. The two sat in a relaxed silence, the only sounds being of the ocean and the far-off chatter of other beach goers.

 _I guess this isn’t so bad either…._ She thought to herself, closing her eyes. _The sun feels really good, and the ocean sounds really pretty… I guess this is why it’s so relaxing…._

“Yer not goin’ out to the water?” she heard Mikoto mumble beside her.

“Nnnn……”

She heard the rustling of clothing, and her inner tube was jostled. “Ey, wake up, kid. I didn’t bring you here ‘ta sleep, go play or somethin’.

“You know, I’m not a child…” she replied indignantly, though the words came out more lethargic than she had attempted to make them. “I can relax on the beach just like everyone else. You’re the one who wouldn’t come out with me.”

“Quit bein’ a brat, you don’t need me to float around in the water.” He replied with a grumble. “Yer just poutin’ at this point.”

“ ‘m not though…. I feel really relaxed and loosey-goosey…”

For the moment, this seemed to satisfy him, and Kylie let out a sigh, letting her body relax again. She didn’t mind doing something like this, even if it meant missing out on swimming in the water; the point was to spend time together, wasn’t it? Besides, this was quite pleasant….

“……… alright, you brat. Yer gettin’ yer wish.”

Kylie opened one eye lazily, turning her head in her boyfriend’s direction and catching a glimpse of his bare legs and feet. The next second, she felt two hands at her sides roughly pulling her up, and before she could process what was happening, he had slung her over his shoulder, her midsection pressed painfully against him and her face inches from his lower back. She let out a squeal of surprise, but he seemed to pay no mind to it as he knelt to pick up her inner tube with his other hand and tuck it under his arm.

“Agh! Mikoto! Ow! Hey! Let go! Put me down!”

“Chrissakes yer loud, don’cha ever stop? Quit squirmin’….”

Despite her wiggling around, the sand zipped past under his feet, and she could only look back as they got further and further from their spot on the beach. Then she heard splashing, and the sound of the ocean getting louder, and her attention refocused on what was below her. Water and foam swirled around Mikoto’s ankles, rising higher on his legs the further he walked.

“Fuck, it’s cold. Shit. How is it this cold? Fuck…..”

His gait slowed a bit as he started to register the water he was walking into, and Kylie couldn’t help but giggle as he cursed under his breath. She felt his arm over her back tighten around her, his body swaying a bit.  
“Ya little shit, you think it’s funny?” he asked gruffly, though she could hear the smile in his voice. “Let’s see if you like it, huh? Nice, refreshing ocean water—“  
The next second, she could feel her body being pushed away from his, and she fell for a split second before hitting the cold water below.

He hadn’t traveled too far from the shore, so the water was fairly shallow, but still deep enough that she found herself submerged for a moment before scrambling for purchase and bursting to the surface. Mikoto stood waist-deep in water, his free hand on his hip, looking amused.  
“Pwuh--- you ass! You threw me!” was the first thing that spilled from her mouth as she shook water from her face. “That’s mean! You shouldn’t be so rough!”

A flicker of surprise crossed the king’s face, and he averted his eyes, his amused smirk gone. “C’mon, I wasn’t bein’ that bad…”

Kylie sighed, letting her shoulders relax at his troubled expression. It wasn’t entirely his fault that he didn’t know his own strength. She was one of the only women he actually knew, much less spent this much time with (besides Anna, she thought, but he would never be so lax around her). He’d just gotten carried away. And at any rate, she could never stay mad at him for anything.

Lowering herself into the water again, she floated up to him, making sure to look as unassuming as possible. He watched her paddle up, curious as to what she was doing….  
“HAHA! Take THIS!”  
With a triumphant laugh and a great flourish, she raised her body up from the water again, bringing her arms up forward and pushing handfuls of icy water up into the air, splashing him. He jolted back, looking down at his now wet chest, then up at her. A small smirk curled at the edge of his lips, and he set her inner tube down in the water, dipping his hand in to splash back at her.

After a minute or two of their water fight, the duo began to settle, Kylie occupying herself with paddling through the water and floating on her back, and Mikoto (not surprisingly) holding on to the inner tube and floating lazily, watching her play. When she looked back to see what he was doing, she couldn’t help but want to giggle at the sight. Mikoto had elected to put himself inside the inner tube and drape himself over the edge, his face and forearms pressed against the plastic as he rested. The floating device was almost hilariously too small for him, and the bulk of his upper body hung over the side, but there was something almost charming about the contrast of his muscular body clinging to the tiny pink inner tube.  
Kylie swam closer, knowing without having to look that he’d likely fallen asleep floating around in the water. She hadn’t expected him to swim circles around her, certainly, but she found it funny how easily he was able to fall asleep in such a place. He really could sleep anywhere, she thought to herself with a laugh.

Swimming closer, she took hold of the side of the inner tube, feeling it dip under her weight. She couldn’t help but reach out to touch the skin of his back—it wasn’t every day that she caught him so relaxed and at ease. She leaned against the floating device, face resting on the plastic as she lazily petted his wet skin, marveling at his sleek build and pale complexion. He wasn’t afflicted with false modesty, not by a long shot, but he didn’t exactly get much sun on his body either. Maybe he needed this little break more than she did.

Thinking this, Kylie could feel herself drifting off under the warm sun…..

 

* * *

 

 

She awoke with a start, noticing immediately that the sky was significantly less bright than it was before she’d fallen asleep. She didn’t absorb her surroundings off the bat, being too groggy from sleep to notice where she was, and went to stretch her arms. She sank into the water (she remembered she had been floating, yes) but after a few seconds of sinking downwards without her toes safely touching sand, she began to realize that the water was much, much deeper wherever they were.

Feeling alarm shoot through her, Kylie quickly breached the surface of the water, treading in place as she looked around. There was nothing to be seen, only Mikoto and their inner tube in front of her and water all around them, uninterrupted.

“Oh…. Oh, crap, crap, shit, crap, MIKOTO WAKE UP!”

She raised her arms frantically, splashing her sleeping companion with ocean water. He snorted, jolting awake and giving a yawn. When she splashed him again, he growled, holding a hand over his face to protect himself.  
“Hey, okay, alright, I’m awake, I’m up… huh….”  
The flame-haired king ran a hand up through his hair, finally looking around. “……….. looks like we’re still in the ocean, huh?”

“Yeah, you think?! There’s nothing BUT ocean! We floated out too far!” Kylie whined, desperately turning every which way, straining her eyes to look out as far as she possibly could. “I have no idea where we are!!!”

“The….. Pacific?” Mikoto offered tiredly, slumping over the inner tube again.

“Dammit, that’s not funny! We need to get back to land! But… I don’t… know where…”

“Well, freaking out about it ain’t gonna get us closer to land. It ain’t like we’re in big danger or anythin’. We’ve got an inner tube. And if you get hungry, I can heat up the water and boil some fish, I bet.”

“Okay, first of all, I’m pretty sure that’s not how your powers work. Second of all, I don’t wanna live in the middle of the Pacific ocean and turn into a giant human prune and eat clown fish for the rest of my life and never see the other guys again---“

“You would make a cute prune girl, though~”

“Stop it! I’m scared! Don’t try to change the subject.”

“Kid, you ain’t gonna turn into a mermaid or some shit, so relax. Either the current will push us closer to land or we’ll find it ourselves. We’re not gonna shrivel up an’ die.”

Mikoto sighed, slipping his arms back and letting his body sink down and under the water, out of the middle of the inner tube. He popped up next to it, looped his arm over the side, and swam closer to Kylie, lifting the floating device over her head.

“Here, quit cryin’ an’ get in. If you keep freakin’ out, you really will get tired.”

Reluctantly, she slipped the floating device over her body and draped herself over the side, letting the tube keep her bobbing on the water. Mikoto kept one hand on the tube, looking around at the water.

“I can hear stuff coming from that direction,” he mumbled, nodding northwest, “so I bet we just drifted a little sideways. If nothin’ else, the beach has nightly fireworks shows, so once it gets dark enough, it’ll be real easy to find out where to go.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Just relax, okay babe? I ain’t too keen on floatin’ around much longer either, so I’ll get us back to shore.”

Saying this, he leaned his body forward and started to paddle, slowly, but surely. Having an entire other human being and an inner tube likely didn’t help much for his speed, Kylie quickly realized.  
“Uh…. I can paddle too, if you want…” she offered after a good ten or so minutes of silence. Mikoto shook his head, breathing heavily.  
“Don’ worry about it, baby. Just stay still. We’ll get back soon.”

The lower the sun sank, and the further the water stretched on, the more panic seemed to burry itself in Kylie’s chest. Mikoto stopped every so often to rest, clinging to the side of the inner tube, refusing to let her paddle while he did so, and would resume kicking and paddling powerfully not minutes later with her in tow.  
It was when the sky began to shift from orange and purple to a dark navy blue that the first fireworks of the evening rose into the sky, bursting like flowers of light. It came from the west, just a little bit sideways from the direction they had been going, and they could both hear the sounds of people in awe over the spectacle and see the tall hotels reaching up into the sky. Mikoto began to swim faster, laser-focused on the direction the sounds were coming from, until finally the beach and all its patrons steadily came into view.

“Fuckin’ finally….” He sighed, sinking a bit into the water as he paddled. “See? Toldja we’d find it. An’ you were all worried about turnin’ into a fish or somethin’……”

“That’s not what I said….”

 

* * *

 

Mikoto refused to stop paddling until both of their feet were touching the ocean floor (a little bit of a walk for him, considering Kylie’s height compared to his). When she finally was able to stretch her legs out and walk on her own, he slumped into the water, clinging to the inner tube like a life line. Kylie took this as her cue to start pulling the both of them ashore. Even when they had reached the point where there was more sand underfoot than water and the ocean barely went up to their ankles, he didn’t seem ready to stand up, so she begrudgingly made her way frontwards and slowly dragged him and the inner tube ashore. If not for the fireworks exploding overhead, the sight of a small woman gritting her teeth and dragging a man on his stomach out of the water with great effort would have captured a great amount more attention.

When she felt the both of them were in the clear and had made it safely to dry sand, Kylie dropped the inner tube, heaved a great sigh, and flopped over on her back next to her tired lover. “Hah…. You…. Decided to get lazy on the last stretch….”

“Mm…. my legs got wobbly…. Sorry….”

“No… I don’t mind… I think we’re even, though….” She laughed tiredly. “Yatagarasu would cry if he saw you like this…”

“I’d sooner kick Yata into the damn ocean myself than let him judge me for bein’ tired of swimming.”

Kylie responded to this with a weak smack of her knuckles against his chest, giggling until her lack of breath caught up again.

The duo laid in the sand for a couple of minutes, staring up at the sky until the fireworks far away seemed to fade and the sky began to slip from a dark navy blue to a darker pitch black, clouds slipping over the small scattering of stars. Mikoto was the first to speak.  
“You wanna stay here a little longer?”

Kylie closed her eyes, shaking her head, hearing the sand grind under her. “I wanna go back to the hotel and take a bath. A really long, hot bath.”

“Mmm….. yeah…. Alright…”

The flame-haired king grunted, sitting up and patting the sand off of his arms, then turned and offered his hand to her. With a great deal of effort she pulled herself up with him onto her feet, grabbed the inner tube, and began the long walk back to the hotel by his side.

 

* * *

 

 

Kylie sighed in relief when she finally slipped into the bath, sinking up to her chin in hot water and frothy bubbles. She’d already rinsed her hair and body of sand in the shower and decided to take a long soak to expel the chill of the ocean from her tired muscles. Beside her, Mikoto sat on a stool and rinsed himself under the shower head, scratching the last remnants of the sea out of his hair. She mused silently to herself that he looked beautiful with his hair down over his face, his body dripping with water and stray patches of soap suds, but she felt it wasn’t the right time to make any mention of it to him. Anyways, she was much too tired to be making such imprudent comments, even if she knew it would make him feel a little more prideful (she knew he secretly liked her little compliments, even if he didn’t like to let on. He always puffed out his chest a little more and made himself a little taller when she said something of his handsome appearance to him. He wasn’t a vain man, but he liked to be complimented by her.)

To her slight disappointment, instead of joining her in the bath, Mikoto dried himself after his shower and mumbled a quick apology before leaving the bathroom. She didn’t see what he had to be sorry for, but in the moment, it didn’t really matter. She decided to let it go, and closed her eyes, letting herself soak a little longer.

When she decided that she’d better leave the water, lest her skin really turn soft and pruneish, she lazily stepped out and dried herself, slipped on her coziest cotton pajamas, and stepped out of the bathroom into the dark hotel room, followed out by clouds of steam from the bath.  
It concerned her, at first, when she realized that Mikoto was not in the bedroom, but a quick look showed her that he had stationed himself outside on the balcony, accompanied by what looked like tiny flickering lights. Curious, Kylie stepped out, her towel around her neck, her bare feet against the carpet, then the cement. Mikoto turned in his seat just as the balcony door slid closed behind her.

“Hey. Good bath? You feel better?” he asked softly.

She nodded, glancing around at her surroundings. The tiny flickering lights were coming from a handful of small tealight candles placed on the sidetable between the two wicker chairs. In addition to the candles, there were two glasses of ice water and a plate of what looked like fried fish and potatoes, and a tiny plate with a frothy piece of white cake and fruit atop.

“I didn’t know what you’d want, so I went ahead an’ got room service so we wouldn’t have to go back down.” Mikoto mumbled, nodding to the empty chair beside himself. Kylie circled the patio, sitting herself down quietly with a nod.  
“Thank you. It looks really good.”

“Ah, well….” Mikoto let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. “It ain’t five-star food, but I figured you’d wanna take it easy tonight after all that swimmin’.”

“It’s perfect. I like it very much.” She assured him, and took a piece of fried potato in her fingers. He seemed to visibly relax after that.

The two ate in silence for a good time, staring out at the dark sky and the ocean shore where small couples could still be seen walking right by the water’s edge, hand in hand. The idea of it sounded lovely, but….. Kylie glanced at her companion, who was lazily chewing on a piece of fried fish and licking his finger tips. He’d gone out of his way to make things as relaxing as possible so that they wouldn’t have to leave the hotel room again. Perhaps they could go walking another night.

Almost as if he could sense her inner dialogue, Mikoto glanced up from his fingers, staring straight into her eyes, glancing back and forth from her to the beach and back to her.  
“You wanna go back down after all?” he asked quietly.

“Oh, um… well, it’s… It IS really lovely out, and the breeze feels just right… but, maybe it’s best if we stay in tonight after all, since we’re both tired…”

“Walkin’ ain’t hard. We don’t have to go that far. You want to?” he asked again.

It wasn’t like him to want to expend more energy that he absolutely had to. Taking a romantic stroll along the ocean shore didn’t seem like something he would come up with himself. Still, he HAD offered, and she wasn’t the sort to let a good opportunity go by.

“Yeah. Just a short walk.” She decided.

Mikoto nodded. “Alright. Finish eating first. Then we’ll go.” He said softly. Though his tone was firm and came off gravely, there was a softness to it that she didn’t miss. She wondered to herself what had gotten into him.

 

* * *

 

 

The beach at might seemed far different from the beach during the day. Kylie hadn’t thought to take the time to walk along the edge of the water and squish the sand between her toes or let the tide splash against her feet, but the beach seemed much pleasanter now and she felt less rushed. The water even seemed milder now that the beach was quiet and the world was falling asleep.

She held on to Mikoto’s hand as the ambled along, his fingers twined with hers and his hand enveloping hers. Every once in a while, she would give a small squeeze, and he would squeeze back, like a tiny little ‘I love you too’ was being transferred between their touching palms.  
“You’re not too tired, right?” he asked quietly, after they had walked a good couple of minutes in silence.  
“Not really. Sort of. But I can walk.” Kylie assured. “I’m not exhausted yet. And it’s nice outside. It’s warm. I think I like the ocean a lot.”

“Mmmm…. That’s good….”

She glanced at her lover out of the corner of her eye, taking in his contemplative expression. “How come you brought me all the way out here? It’s really far from Shizune. And I bet you won’t tell me how much this cost you, either.”

“Causeit ain’t yer business to worry about it. Besides, the other guys all pitched in to pay for it, so it’s already done and over with. No used worryin’ now.”

“The boys did? Why?”

“Eh……”

Mikoto shrugged nonchalantly, though his expression flinched as something like sheepishness came across it. “They…. Yaknow, they wanted to get you somethin’. For yer birthday.”

At this, Kylie all but stopped walking, surprise lighting up her expression. “…… My birthday isn’t for another two days.”

“Yeah, I know that. ‘S why we’re gonna be here a week.”

“You planned it like that?”

“Well, yeah… I wanted to do somethin’ special for ya.” He scratched the bridge of his nose, suddenly looking frustrated--- or perhaps flustered was the better term to use. “An’ I remembered how you said you’ve always wanted to see the ocean for real and go to a beach, so I looked it up, and this place seemed like it wouldn’t be too crowded, and there’s onsen here too if we get bored…..”

He trailed off, ending his sentence with a noncommittal grunt and a shrug of his shoulders. “I wanted ‘ta give you somethin’ real good. Cause….. ya’know, cause yer my girl, so I should give you the best birthday gift, right? I know it’s a little early, but I wanted to be the first ‘ta say it… ”

Kylie bit her lip, fighting back the smile that threatened to take over her features. It was all for her after all. He’d been thinking of her all this time. Even the tough, grumpy Red King could be thoughtful when he wanted to be. She never doubted he had the capacity. But, experiencing it for herself felt better than anything she could have conjured in a daydream, she decided.  
She began to walk again, holding her lover’s hand tight as her gait picked up. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

Her soft agreement was all it took to calm her flustered lover; following along beside her, he gave a sigh, his shoulders relaxing, and a small smile spread across his lips. “Good. That’s…. good…”

His smile quickly turned to a wicked grin, and before she had realized what was happening, he had swept down and scooped her into his arms, twirling her in the air as she clung to his neck with a yelp. He chuckled, leaning his head up to place a kiss against the bare skin of her collar visible above her sun dress. He hummed softly, stopping for a moment to hold her against himself. His golden eyes shone warm with affection as he glanced up as his lover, drinking her in.

“Happy Birthday, baby girl.” He finally mumbled.

Out on the beach, the many lights along the road and the lamps on the boardwalk started to dim until moths and flies fluttered around the fading bulbs. The lights in hotel room windows started flicking off, one by one, as people began to give their minds to peaceful sleep.The ocean splashed against the sand, the music of voices and nightlife began to die, and two lovers alone on the beach embraced, sure that they would never feel quite so at ease as they did right now.


End file.
